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Gerry's back on the road again. Nothing like having a women to earn your travel money for you!!! He left Perth and hit a lot of wind and rain, but still made good time. I met him on the northern outskirts of Adelaide on his first non rainy day... as it turned out, quite a warm one...

We cruised through the city traffic taking the shortest way home. He was looking forwards to a shower and soft bed!
Next morning I got him to show me his new camping set up... a shelter he knocked up really quickly out of heavy duty canvas. A good size and it covers the chopper as well. When he was here last year he had travelled with a swag which he found too bulky on the chopper and too constricted for long trips. I set up my shelter for him and he reckoned that was the way to go and so came up with Mark I...

The main job he wanted me to do was check out his springer which he felt was very stiff. We went for a spin up the road and sure enough riding alongside him I could see no movement in the rockers even on a couple of big bumps the council have saved for me!

Back to the workshop and the problem found... the engineer who set up his disc brake mounts, measured them incorrectly meaning that when the axle was pulled tight it prevented the rockers moving. It was a case of only an extra two mils to allow everything to move as it should. He had had his axle nuts come loose a few times in the past and this explained it, the rockers trying to move up and down gradually loosened them. Red arrow shows the bush that was fouling the brake mount. Blue arrow shows the jammed up brake mount...

Machining an extra 2mm into the bush. This needed to be done bushes on both sides of the wheel...

Jett rolled up during the morning and got to work on his kz 750 bobber, his back up bike...

Once the re machined bushes were installed we took the chopper for a run up the road, but on the first small bump heard a grating sound. Pulled up and a close look showed the engineer had not checked travel when he set everything up and as the springer compressed as it now did, the brake rotors hit the rear brake anchor bolt on each side. If we hadn't stopped to check it straight away he would have gone over the handle bars as the scalloped rotors locked into the bolt!!!!

Jett here after racing home to get an allan key to sort it out til we got back to the workshop. He ran out of petrol in the process... my fault for not checking the tank on my CB before I got hime to ride it!...

Problem was partly solved back at the workshop by using a button head and a narrower spacer. However, the anchors now fouled the brake mounts...

So we had to relieve them on the linisher. Here you can also see the narrower spacer we used...

Another quick run and the springer now worked as it should... and a much smoother ride too.
Lesson to me from this experience. don't trust anyone else's work and check everything. A final double check was to use a big G clamp I have modified just for the purpose and compressed the springer fully to make sure everything cleared even on the biggest bumps...

On the trip Gerry had also lost a indicator lens and was concerned about his flimsy number plate mounting. He also wanted to shift the indicators further to the rear because they are obscured by the panniers. I had an identical set and we worked out a more substantial bracket that would incorporate the moved indicators. First step was removing the existing bracket...

New bracket is five times the strength of the original; 30x5 instead of 20x2.5. Ends of bracket are extended vertically, so each corner of the number plate is now supported (by M5 stainless socket head cap screws). Two bolts each side of the centre are LED's for illumination. Bracket is slotted to allow them to be easily removed...

Wiring was pretty messy up under the guard so I redid that including a local earth (centre bolt)...

A piece of traffic sign ally is folded to hold the wiring in place and protect it from stones and mud...

Completed front end that now actually works...

Gerry now had another request. He wanted to have a place up front to put his camera, so he would not miss the opportunity to get cool photos on the road. His GPS was mounted on a bought handle bar mount, but was a bit wobbly and sat up like rabbit in the morning sunshine.

He was also running without a speedo and I suggested he use his phone as a speedo and mount it on the bars as well. He reckoned that sounded just like a Prof type solution (look at the whole picture) and said let's do it. Took half an hour of playing around to come up with something that covered all bases..

Final design was to mount the GPS low to the rear (green arrow), the phone higher at the front (blue arrow) with a cosy spot in between (red arrow) for the camera...

After the drawing and measuring came an aluminium pattern which looked about right...

Final drawings and measurements. Drawing the top is a side elevation and the bottom left (blue arrow) is called a development drawing, which shows the actual shape of the material for making the case and includes the fold lines...

Case is to be mounted on the top of the risers. Here marking edges and holes by pressing the paper with dirty fingers!

GPS mounting measured up...

1.6mm steel sheet cut and bent up according to our development drawing. Holes are drilled before folding...

Here's how to do narrow bends. Support the item in the vice between two pieces of thick metal bar. Steel can now be bent over the front piece of bar with a hammer. Start the bend with the hammer at a sharp angle to prevent the metal slipping...

Phone fits nicely...

Marking the two sides by pressing with those dirty fingers again...

Sides welded and linished...

Spacer made out of plastic to support the GPS. Cut away at top is so Gerry can access the release catch (silver pin)...

Mudguard washers are used under the button heads used to secure the case. This spreads the stress and reduces the likely hood of cracking of the metal...

Thin foam rubber I use as a final cover for my seats is just right to provide packing and protection for the camera...

Job done. Holes on each side of the camera mount allow for it to be switched and programmes selected...

It was now well and truly dark and we reckon a ride to test everything is just what we need after a hard day's work... and bugger, the right indicator doesn't work. Out with the multimeter and trace it to the switch and on inspection a broken wire. It has to be pulled apart to get to the wire, so take photos as we disassemble the switch...

I have a broken switch that has the wiring intact, so we pull both apart and swap the part out. As it turns this is not quite as simple as at first thought and it takes half a dozen tries to finally get it right...

At last everything works. It's now midnight and I am going to go for a ride no matter what. Gerry agrees and we get cleaned up and pull the bikes out of the workshop. Get our riding gear on including those blasted things nanny says we have to put on our heads. A petrol stop is first on the list and then a short cruise to the beach...

Two choppers fuelling up... getting in the groove real quick!

I take Gerry down to Moana beach and we pull up on the concrete ramp... Take a few shots in the lamp light...

Love this pic...

We stay around for a while taking in the solitude of the beach, waves hissing in and out across the cool sand. We both wish we'd brought our sleeping bags... perfect weather and perfect time to crash on the beach. We haven't, so finally ride towards home... to an unexpected event. Which I'll tell you about soon...